Life sentences were imposed after the defendants were found responsible for the death of the 25-year-old Georgia runner.
A Georgia jury convicted Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was fatally shot while running through a neighborhood near Brunswick in February 2020. The case later became one of the most closely watched criminal trials in the United States.
The prosecution centered on the events of February 23, 2020, when Travis and Gregory McMichael pursued Arbery in pickup trucks after seeing him running through their neighborhood. Bryan joined the pursuit and recorded part of the encounter on his cellphone. The chase continued for several minutes before Travis McMichael confronted Arbery with a shotgun. During a struggle over the weapon, McMichael shot Arbery, who died at the scene.
The defendants argued that they believed Arbery was involved in criminal activity and that the confrontation ultimately involved self-defense. Prosecutors disputed that explanation and presented evidence concerning the circumstances of the pursuit and the defendants' actions before the shooting. The cellphone video became a major piece of evidence and drew widespread public attention after it was released.
In November 2021, the state jury found Travis McMichael guilty of malice murder and felony murder, while Gregory McMichael and Bryan were convicted of felony murder. All three were also convicted of additional offenses connected to the killing.
In January 2022, Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley sentenced all three defendants to life imprisonment. Travis and Gregory McMichael received life without the possibility of parole, while Bryan received life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. The sentencing reflected differences in the convictions and the judge's findings regarding each defendant's role in the events.
The case did not end with the state convictions. In February 2022, a separate federal jury found all three men guilty of federal hate-crime charges and attempted kidnapping. The federal prosecution presented evidence that prosecutors said demonstrated racial motivation in the pursuit and killing.
A federal judge subsequently imposed additional sentences in August 2022: Travis McMichael received life plus 10 years, Gregory McMichael received life plus seven years, and Bryan received 35 years. Because the men were already serving state sentences, the federal convictions added another layer to the legal consequences arising from Arbery's death.
The case remains significant in American criminal law and civil-rights discussions because it involved both state murder prosecutions and a subsequent federal hate-crime case. In November 2025, a federal appeals court upheld the hate-crime convictions, leaving the underlying federal convictions intact.